Matt Fripp

Booking Agent, Manager & Host of Jazzfuel.com

About Me

I’ve worked an an agent & manager for jazz musicians for more than 8 years now,
after first studying as a jazz musician at the Guildhall School of Music in London.
Alongside this, I run the website www.jazzfuel.com which posts articles, interviews
and tips aimed at helping jazz musicians build their career and get more gigs.
After graduating from music college I started managing a good friend of mine
(Anthony Strong, who I still represent today) and eventually took on a job as a
booking agent at Air Artist Agency – part of AirMTM which is also a top UK PR
agency and management for Jamie Cullum.
In 6 years at Air I booked more than 1,000 shows in Europe, Asia & North America
and represented around 20 artists including Kyle Eastwood, Marius Neset, Anthony
Strong, Get The Blessing, Natalie Williams, Empirical, Troyka, China Moses, Tim
Garland, Food (Iain Ballamy & Thomas Strønen), Hailey Tuck & Michael Wollny.
Today my main work is looking after worldwide bookings and management for a
small roster of brilliant artists. Alongside this though, I spend time each day
reading, writing and sharing ideas on this website about how jazz musicians can
build a career faster and more efficiently.

My Jazz Story

The best show I ever attended was Wayne Shorter at the Barbican in London. After
so many years of studying his records, it was magic to hear him live.

My Favorites

I was first exposed to jazz when I discovered that one of Jimi Hendrix's influences was Wes Montgomery. I played guitar growing up and idolized Hendrix, so I knew that anyone he looked up to must be good

I was first exposed to jazz when I discovered that one of Jimi Hendrix's influences was Wes Montgomery. I played guitar growing up and idolized Hendrix, so I knew that anyone he looked up to must be good. I was 16 at the time. I went to Tower Records and purchased a CD by Wes, and I was hooked from the very first ten seconds. The sound of the song Lolita illuminated my bedroom, as I just sat back amazed at how colorful and soulful this music was--I understood it, even though at the time I didn't understand how to go about playing it. I get chills listening to Wes' solo on Lolita, and I can still listen to that song ten times in a row and never get tired of it. There is a truly timeless quality to genuinely spontaneous jazz music, and it is that quality that has inspired me to devote my life to studying and playing this music.